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Unnatural Selection

How We Are Changing Life, Gene by Gene

  • Book
  • © 2015
  • Latest edition

Overview

Authors:
  1. Emily Monosson

    1. Department of Environmental Conservation, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA

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  • One of the first books on rapid evolution for a general audience -Includes cutting-edge information in the burgeoning field of epigenetics -Makes critical issues in health and environmental science accessible and relatable

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Table of contents (9 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-x
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  2. Introduction: Life-Changing Chemicals

    1. Life-Changing Chemicals

      • Emily Monosson
      Pages 1-5

  3. Unnatural Selection in a Natural World

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 7-7
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    2. Discovery: Antibiotics and the Rise of the Superbug

      • Emily Monosson
      Pages 9-31

    3. Prevention: Searching for a Universal Vaccine

      • Emily Monosson
      Pages 33-53

    4. Treatment: Beyond Chemotherapy

      • Emily Monosson
      Pages 55-75

    5. Defiance: Rounding Up Resistance

      • Emily Monosson
      Pages 77-93

    6. Resurgence: Bedbugs Bite Back

      • Emily Monosson
      Pages 95-106

  4. Natural Selection in an Unnatural World

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 107-107
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    2. Release: Toxics in the Wild

      • Emily Monosson
      Pages 109-126

    3. Evolution: It’s Humanly Possible

      • Emily Monosson
      Pages 127-139

  5. Beyond Selection

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 141-141
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    2. Epigenetics: Epilogue or Prologue?

      • Emily Monosson
      Pages 143-153

  6. Back Matter

    Pages 155-187
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Keywords

About this book

Gonorrhea. Bed bugs. Weeds. Salamanders. People. All are evolving, some surprisingly rapidly, in response to our chemical age. In Unnatural Selection, Emily Monosson shows how our drugs, pesticides, and pollution are exerting intense selection pressure on all manner of species. And we humans might not like the result. Monosson reveals that the very code of life is more fluid than once imagined. When our powerful chemicals put the pressure on to evolve or die, beneficial traits can sweep rapidly through a population. Species with explosive population growth—the bugs, bacteria, and weeds—tend to thrive, while bigger, slower-to-reproduce creatures, like ourselves, are more likely to succumb. Unnatural Selection is eye-opening and more than a little disquieting. But it also suggests how we might lessen our impact: manage pests without creating super bugs; protect individuals from disease without inviting epidemics; and benefit from technology without threatening the health of our children.

Authors and Affiliations

  • Department of Environmental Conservation, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA

    Emily Monosson

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Unnatural Selection

  • Book Subtitle: How We Are Changing Life, Gene by Gene

  • Authors: Emily Monosson

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.5822/978-1-61091-500-7

  • Publisher: Island Press Washington, DC

  • eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental Science, Earth and Environmental Science (R0)

  • Copyright Information: Emily Monosson 2015

  • eBook ISBN: 978-1-61091-500-7Published: 06 July 2015

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: VIII, 189

  • Number of Illustrations: 24 b/w illustrations

  • Topics: Environment, general

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